Monthly Archives: October 2009

The Arizona Attorney General's Office announced Oct. 26 that it has indicted 21 people in connection with a marijuana-smuggling operation based in Pinal County.
Attorney General Terry Goddard, along with Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, sent out a media release noting that Operation Los Tusa has dismantled a syndicate responsible for smuggling thousands of pounds of marijuana into Arizona during the past three years.

U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke will chair a subcommittee on border and immigration law enforcement that will advise U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Burke, who was recently confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Arizona, on Oct. 26 was named as the chairman of the Border and Immigration Law Enforcement Subcommittee.

Legislative budget analysts said last week that $165 million of the state budget deficit is due to "potential unrealized budget savings" that were assumed as part of the spending plan, which was designed to bridge a $3 billion shortfall.
In short, several savings measures won't work as planned.

LAKE HAVASU CITY - Lake Havasu City owes fired City Manager Richard Kaffenberger more than $200,000 in retirement, vacation, "termination" and other pay.
City Human Resources representative Shirlee Palbicki says the amount will be paid immediately.

PRESCOTT - U.S. Geological Survey researchers plan to study how changes in the flow of the middle and upper Verde River might affect plant and animal life and water quality.
Lower stream flows could be caused by global warming or groundwater pumping and affect the viability of some fish and bird species.

The desert tortoise thrives in intense heat and can go a year without water, but it's among the species threatened by climate change, an wildlife group says.
Looking toward events Oct. 24 calling attention to carbon emissions and their role in warming the planet, the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity released a report highlighting 350 animal and plant species it says could vanish due to climate change. Of those, 24 are Arizona locals.

Sen. John McCain ended the third quarter with 500 times more cash on hand - $5 million in all - than his closest declared Republican rival, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
"He's clearly on the path to continue raising money in a substantial amount," said Frederic Solop, a Northern Arizona University political science professor.

It took about two weeks, but Sheriff Joe has figured out where he got the list of criteria to detain illegal immigrants. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office released a statement earlier this week that noted he will continue to use a set of indicators - including an inability to speak English, unusual appearance and the location where people are stopped - to detain people who might be illegal immigrants.

Reliable, reasonably priced transportation options are vital, especially in a state where the car is king, public transportation is severely limited, fuel prices are in continual flux, the number of elderly residents is rising rapidly and commodities must be imported by truck, train, pipeline or plane.

Don't blink while driving through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. You'll miss your terminal and spend another 10 minutes looping around on a motorway modeled on one of those circles in hell.
But the future holds hope - at a cost of nearly $1.6 billion. It's the automated people-mover, officially known as the PHX Sky Train.